chopping board to bathroom shelf

here’s a quirky one from karen. she wanted a bathroom shelf but was on a super-tight budget, plus the fact that her bathroom was, as she terms it, painfully narrow.

“i wanted something that i didn’t have to saw or cut in half, was moisture-resistant, but was still durable enough to withstand the weight of a few bottles and jars.

i purchased a black legitim chopping board and two stodis brackets. screwed my brackets into the wall, placed the chopping board on top, secured it with a couple of pushpins, and voila! brand new, easy-to-clean, sturdy shelf.”

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Jules IKEAHacker "I am Jules, the engine behind IKEAHackers and the one who keeps this site up and running. My mission is to capture all the wonderful, inspiring, clever hacks and ideas for our much loved IKEA items".

24 Responses to chopping board to bathroom shelf

I have just stumbled on this site and this is the 2nd item ive looked at and couldnt stop laughing at how ridiculous this idea is!! Glad its not just me who thinks this is terrible, I think i would have used my “super-tight” budget a little wiser.

I agree with that completely. It’s not technically perfect, but it’s still a really cool idea. With the stuff on it you can’t see the thumb tacks. I think it would be nice to secure it so that the handle could be used to hang things. You could even get some s-hooks and an a hanging cup from one of the kitchen sets (BYGEL, ASKER). That would be a nice place for a toothbrush.

Although, for the record, I don’t think it’s that gross. The bathroom is cramped and because of the way germs spread, there’s really no place safer. She may not have a male roommate to pee on it in the middle of the night.

I think you did a good job with what you had – totally understand having to make do on an almost non existent budget!I like that you thought to get something that would handle being in the bathroom environment. Easy to clean etc etc. Well done.And to everyone who could only criticise – where are your hacks then???? “Those who can do and those who can’t are a waste of time”

BTW, re: *Fecal coliforms were indeed found on all the test brushes, including the control ones….* There was little bit of extremely important info about that paragraph that was MIA: a number of the control toothbrushes in this test were in lots of other rooms of the house, including the kitchen. Now remember the MythBusters found that all the test toothbrushes, INCLUDING all the controls, tested positive for fecal bacteria at or about the same levels. Air circulation is called that for a reason: air circulates EVERYWHERE it possibly can…. therefore, *The air is the air, what can be done?” Sweet F-A, that’s what. So not only do fecal bacteria land there, every other kind of bacteria and chemical fumes and particles and stuff all gets deposited on toothbrushes (and everywhere else, for that matter), for instance: when somebody sneezed just inside the front door, or someone killed a centipede in the den using bug spray, or somebody burnt popcorn in the kitchen, or somebody sprayed air freshener or fabric refresher around because ol’ Gramps farted on the couch and in the hall (and I seem to recall farting emits fecal bacteria as well as the obvious gas). Not to mention outside bits of air pollution from when people come in from outside! Somehow, I don’t think keeping one’s toothbrush six feet from the toilet is really gonna help, sorry to piss on your parade, dear (so to speak!).

Re: covering toothbrushes, depending on the type of cover you use you can unwittingly create a mold and/or mildew problem that way. Ewwww…. OK, I WAS eating, but not anymore!

Wow doesn’t anyone watch TV anymore?!?! Ever since I saw that *appetizing* little episode of MythBusters, I just use two toothbrushes. When one’s in active use, the other’s in the dishwasher, and I just switch ‘em back and forth whenever I run the DW every one-to-three days. (You can probably just drop ‘em in freshly boiled water for a couple of minutes now and then if you don’t have a DW.)

And now, for the Howard Hughes knock-offs among us, there are apparently also little UV-lit, bacteria-killing storage thingies made just ‘specially for toothbrushes — but, since they cost at least an arm and a leg plus tax, I won’t be affording one ‘o those anytime soon LOL. Oh, well….

it’s not a particularly great hack, and not one i wish to emulate, but believe me i understand about budget-driven home projects. however, securing it with tacks is just not sufficient. some holes should be drilled so that it can be screwed on properly.

Myth is busted, all toothbrushes have a certain degree of %$#&@ on them, yada, yada. All things equal, I’d still rather brush my teeth with a covered toothbrush kept 6 feet from the toilet than an uncovered one stored 18 inches from where my husband pees in the dark in the middle of the night. Mmmm – minty fresh.

According to the link you provided – it was confirmed, not busted, there’s just not much you can do about it:

Fecal coliforms bacteria can grow in toothbrush bristles.

Confirmed

Fecal coliforms were indeed found on all the test brushes, including the control ones. However, none were of a level high enough to be dangerous, and experts confirm that such coliforms were impossible to completely avoid.

>I don’t have much of an opinion on >the shelf, but I can tell you I’m >pretty disgusted that this person >apparently keeps their uncovered >tooth brush and drinking glass on >the back of the toilet. I’m >nauseated just thinking about it. >(The spray from a toilet flush can >land several feet away, carrying >human waste along with it. Does >IKEA have a hack for that?)

I totally understand a tight budget & I love using what I’ve got instead of feeding the capitalist machine. But ya really oughta secure that damn shelf to the brackets w/something besides tacks! And if ya did-you could utilize the cutting board handle to hang something from.Good Luck.

I don’t have much of an opinion on the shelf, but I can tell you I’m pretty disgusted that this person apparently keeps their uncovered tooth brush and drinking glass on the back of the toilet. I’m nauseated just thinking about it. (The spray from a toilet flush can land several feet away, carrying human waste along with it. Does IKEA have a hack for that?)

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